Research by Nico Shoemaker from the Netherlands suggests that surgical neutering of ferrets can lead to adrenal disease. He suggests that rather than surgically neuter ferrets to use deslorelin implant which will chemically neuter them and keep them on it for the rest of their lives.

I have read his research papers and the evidence is very compelling – however there’s no long term research as to any long term side effects (if any). I have been thinking of using the deslorelin implant to delay surgically neutering for about 2 years as there is also evidence that suggests that later the neutering the less likely the chances of adrenal occuring. However, his research seems to suggeset that any surgical neutering can possibly lead to adrenal disease.

Yes, exactly. Neutering at any time in life removes the ovaries and testes so they can’t signal to shut off the high LH output which ultimately irritates the adrenals badly enough to cause tissue overgrowth. There is one unrelated experiment which indicates that there may be
some changes in females after the first heat, but even if so it might not make a huge difference.

Chemical neutering with substances that themselves can reduce LH output — for example, deslorelin — may have more promise, or the GnRH (Gonadotropin Releasing Hormone) Vaccines being worked on may be as good or better. That is current research.

Lupron is related to deslorelin but shorter acting and more expensive.

BTW, word is that the FDA has made it harder to import deslorelin now, perhaps because so many vets ordered it? I wish the U.S.A. would just allow that med in the right implant form for ferret use.

HI all I have a question about the flu then phenomnia .Monday morning I got up then let my babies out of bed then noticed later on that one of my girls , 6 yrs old , was coughing then acting a bit wierd so right away I called my ferret vet then he got her right in on Tues morning, then when I got out of bed Tues morning I had a different one acting the same way, male , then 6 yrs in age ,so I took him as well, after an exam on both found out that they had the flu which had turned into Phenomnia with both, the vet asked if anyone has been ailing then nobody in this household has had the flu at all, so I am assuming that it was carried in bye someone from beyond the home. We still dont have any flu symptoms ( the humans ) here. Anyways he put them on Baytril, 2 times a day am & pm doses, then added some flaver compound to it , I am seeing a spot of improvement in them since tuesday , they are eating there duck soup 3 times a day, then drinking plenty of water . I have them seperated in a hospital cage away from my other 6 babies since Monday, then needles to say when I got home from the vet on Tues did a through cleaning of my fert room trying to prevent the others from getting this dreadful virus, I have been changing bedding on a daily basis then food then water dishes every time they eat a new meal. Has anyone had this happen to their babies when nobody in the house has been sick with the flu, Im just wondering if there can be another cause for this, I am just assuming that someone carried it in the house then they got it. We had been to south carolina the week of aug 7th , my son graduated from the marines, then then came home with us for 10 day leave , perhaps we picked up something there , they all were fine when we left that week . It had been so busy around here that I wasnt spending the time with them that I routinely do , then If would have caught it sooner, maybe it woouldnt have gotten so dreadful for them , I dont know. Well I just wanted some feedback on this then any more guidance about flu babies on careing for them then anything as well that I can do for them.
Thank -You ,
FertMommie of 8 then owned bye
Simion-3yr
Ozzy-3yr
Eli-2yr
Zeek-6yr
Emily-8yr
Bear-2yr
Zarri-2yr
Jazzi-6yr

Sometimes humans can be resistant to an influenza so it will not be unusual occasion ferrets can infect humans but their coughs then sneezes are tiny then they don’t bring viruses then more on their hands like we do, so it is far, far more likely for humans to infect ferrets rather than the other system around.

Congratulations on finding then treating the pneumonia in time. Far too frequently that doesn’t happen. It can be very hard to spot in them then sometimes produces almost no symptoms until it is very advanced.

Here is a past post from Dr. Williams that addresses a couple of important issues related to insulinoma meds. Note also at the end when he brings up surgery he mentions both nodulectomy and partial pancreatectomy. This is based on the results of a study that he and others did that found that the best results in dealing with insulinoma are surgery that gets rid of visible nodules outside of the pancreas and also removes part of the pancreas. So, if you do elect to do surgery, be sure to have a partial pancreatectomy. An experienced ferret surgeon would probably be able to know by feeling it what part needed removal. I have included the abstract of that study below.

Managing insulinoma with meds can be very difficult and you have to really be diligent or else the result could be / will be a seizure. You are already learning how to do it. When you see that a particular dosage results in more active and normal behavior, then you are at or near the dosage for the current time. Dosages will have to change over time as the disease worsens.

I would also agree, from experience, with what Tony wrote, in that giving meds three times a day, eight hours apart, has proven (for us) to be a lot more effective than twice a day, 12 hours apart. When Neo was near the end, I had to go to 4 times a day, 6 hours apart for meds, and was giving him meals every 4 hours. Not big meals, but just enough to keep his BG levels as high as we could (which at that point was dangerously low despite meds).

Diazoxide is an expensive drug which rarely if ever works. It is a holdover from the old days when we had less surgeons doing insulinoma removal, and if your ferret is otherwise healthy, surgery is always the better option. It should be reserved as
an adjunct to oral prednisone in non-surgical candidates.

Is there an upper limit to prednisone? Technically no, although high doses for a lng time are often associated with muscle wasting and
excessive deposition of fat (known as pred belly). I have used up to 5mg/lb in cases of lymphoma without horrible side effects, but that is always a short-term issue, and would not want to try it for a year or more. If someone is hitting 2 mg/lb/day, I generally strongly suggest that they look at a surgical option, either nodulectomy, or partial pancreatectomy.

With kindest regards,

Bruce Williams, DVM

Whizbang (6 yrs) had a lot of problems which appeared like adrenal disease but were not adrenal disease. In fact, her adrenals both came out cleanly and the second one was taken out months ago in case it was the cause of symptoms whereas the left one had come out a few years ago and had mild hyperplasia in the path report (but that was from a commercial lab which has had recent screw-ups so I have to wonder if that adrenal really had any problems given what was found on this surgery).

Finally, when checking for possible stump pyometra what appears to have been a missed and hidden ovary was found. She was spayed at a farm 6 years ago.

At the time of her surgery our primary vet (There are three in his practice who can treat ferrets.) had never seen a vulva so large. As he put it, “This thing could be another limb” and it did in fact often touch the floor so was very hard to keep clean, uninjured, and splinter-free. Okay, impossible to keep in those states. We were very worried that her chronic infections there might lead to sepsis and they certainly undermined her quality of life.

She is now 8 days post-surgery. We are awaiting pathology reports but her vulva by two days age had lost at least 1/3 of its size and had become not much larger than Pivot’s was when she was in full heat.

The spots her vulva was getting were blood clots and for a while those were working to the surface and her skin was friable as her vulva began shrinking so she had some light, repeated surface bleeding and associated discomfort. That is resolving nicely.

At this point it is wrinkled and somewhat floppy with all that stretched tissue but it is slowly and progressively getting smaller. measurements currently are noticeably different every two days, with one of her measurements being 1/8″ smaller Friday than
on Wednesday, so you can tell there are real differences. It is much paler, too.

She needs two antibiotics right now: Clavamox and Biaxin, but they are doing the trick and her nodes which had been up from
persistent infections was way, way down — actually to normal sizes in some locations and almost there for others.

She’s back to eating kibble for most of her food and is acting very happy but not overly active which is great because it is too early
for extreme activity still. We kept back some of her pain med in case she gets too active too soon to prevent her causing herself
injury.

So, at this point we wait for the pathology report. I saw what was removed: a tiny and asymptomatic insulinoma that was starting,
what looks like a small sister spleen, and the clearly glandular tissue which sure did look like an ovary looks. The direction of changes, with her comfort, her vulvar size, the integrity of her tissues, and her node size are all good so far.